Capitol News

Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, and House Speaker Matt Hall announced that the Michigan Legislature has reached a bipartisan agreement to pass a full state budget this week. The budget includes funding for infrastructure improvements, tax reductions for working families, Medicaid and hospital protections, increased education funding with free school meals, public safety investments, and updates to Selfridge.

The administration and legislative leaders are continuing to meet in order to finalize the details of the budget. Both chambers will also pass implementation bills as part of the process. Measures have been adopted by both the House and Senate to increase transparency in how taxpayer dollars are used, with a commitment to negotiating permanent changes to transparency laws.

State government operations will continue without interruption while the final pages of the budget are completed. Once finalized, the legislature will vote on it before sending it to Governor Whitmer for review and signature.

Governor Whitmer stated: “Tomorrow, state government will continue and work will go on in the legislature to finalize a balanced, bipartisan state budget this week. We’re on the verge of making huge progress to fix our state and local roads, feed our kids at school, cut taxes for seniors and working families, protect access to affordable health care, and keep Michiganders safe in their communities. As drafting continues, I’m grateful to legislators on both sides of the aisle for their work and I am ready to conduct a final legal review and sign it into law after they send me the budget. Meanwhile, state government will continue providing uninterrupted services and all state employees will work tomorrow, getting things done for their fellow Michiganders. We’re almost there. Let's get it done.”

Speaker Matt Hall said: “We made progress over the weekend eliminating waste, fraud and abuse so we can finally fund our top needs as a state. House Republicans have been fighting from day one to restore school safety and mental health, eliminate ghost employees, and bring the Hall Ethics Accountability and Transparency plan permanently to Lansing, and now we are seeing movement on these major priorities. With these reforms, this agreement is going to lower the cost of government and give Michigan families better value for their tax dollars. We are working hard to draft these bills now so we can lock in this plan and get state government moving in the right direction.”

Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks added: “Michiganders deserve a state budget that puts their hard-earned taxpayer dollars to good use, and I’m proud that we will be voting on a product that secures free breakfast and lunch for kids, protects Medicaid, secures meaningful funding for families and communities while also delivering on roads. Residents can rest assured that we are working in tandem and share a commitment to getting the budget done as soon as the bills are ready.”